


Chat Noir Vs. Style Queen; Last Man Standing

by Word_Devourer



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Canon, Chat Noir To The Rescue, Chloe Bourgeois not being awful, Gen, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-04-30
Packaged: 2020-02-10 12:58:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18660904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Word_Devourer/pseuds/Word_Devourer
Summary: An alternate version of Style Queen, where Ladybug gets between Style Queen and Adrien, and now Chat Noir is forced to take on a deadly villain without her.





	Chat Noir Vs. Style Queen; Last Man Standing

**Author's Note:**

> A very good friend of mine mentioned that they were disappointed by the fact that Chat Noir is never the one to defeat the villain, even in Weredad, which was his time to do it if ever there was one.
> 
> I, of course, took this as subtle prompt to write such a story (even though it definitely wasn't) and created this.

Audrey Bourgeois was an easy mark.  She would have _hated_ to hear it, and that she would have hated it made her an even easier mark.

Hawkmoth almost had to laugh.

The slightest provocation pushed her into an icy rage, and he’d made sure to layer on a _few_ of them.

Style Queen would doubtless prove destructive.  Certainly, she had everything she needed to be deadly; the ability to defeat an enemy in a single strike, the malice that would make her unable to be reasoned with, an exceptional degree of evasiveness, and…

Hawkmoth was so busy trying to find a characteristic to finish the list that he looked up as in _retrospect_ he realized that he’d missed a call of ‘Lucky Charm,’ and-

 _“No, wait!”_ he shouted, seeing Adrien in her sights.  It was too late, the golden bolt shooting out, and-

He practically froze himself, as…

As Ladybug put herself in the way of the shot.

His eyes went wide, as the gold spread along her body, and…

Style Queen scoffed.  “Really?  Ridiculous.  Utterly ridiculous, thinking that would stop me for more than a half-second.”

He let out a strangled sound as she once again took aim at Adrien, but- “Leave him!”

He felt the power drop from the bolt.  She growled.  “ _Leave him?_   Give me one good reason why I should.”

Hawkmoth cast about, and- “He’ll sow panic, and serve as a harbinger to your true target.”

She paused, and then…  Laughed, lightly.  “Put a scare in Gabriel before I come for him.  Good.  He deserves it.”

Hawkmoth rolled his eyes.  “Of course.”  As if he’d let himself be scared of her, even if he _wasn’t_ Hawkmoth.

And then he remembered.

“So,” she said, stepping forward.  “Is this the famous ‘Ladybug?’”

He let out a soft breath.  “Yes.”

“Hmph.  Not that good, is she?  Didn’t even put up a fight, not to mention how _garish_ her clothes are.”

He bit back the response that she’d only gone down so easily because she’d sacrificed herself, because… It didn’t matter.  She was frozen solid, and doubtless an easy mark to take the Miraculous of.

The only question was…

“And now,” he said, “you can use her to draw in Chat Noir.”

\--

Chat Noir, in this case, was panicking.

Was this how Ladybug had felt when Princess Fragrance had gotten him?  Or when Zombizou’s zombies had kissed him into uselessness?  Or when Malediktator had… Turned him into a cat?  Frankly, he’d kind of lost track of all the times he’d been removed from a fight and Ladybug had been forced to improvise.

And now it was his turn.

Well, consider him suitable chastened for not taking better care of himself, because _this was awful._

So…

Style Queen was in there.  He was out here.

How, exactly, was he supposed to follow up on this?

There was a blast of light from above, golden glitter flying from the roof of the building, and…

He flattened himself against the wall, as she flew away, overhead.

Judging by her path…

Did he even need to _ask_ where she was going.

No.

Because the Eiffel tower had experienced an actual _loss_ in tourism, he’d read, because everybody knew it was the hot place for villains to get in fights with superheroes.

And knowing Hawkmoth, why change a losing formula?

He sighed.

It was probably too much to hope that Ladybug was still in there, wasn’t it.

He had to check anyway.

Back in the door, and…

As he’d expected, the room looked like if Medusa and King Midas had had a child, but Ladybug was nowhere to be found.

Instead…

She was facing away from him, looking upward at a window, almost absently.

He stepped up, pausing when he was maybe ten feet away.

A glance confirmed that her father was frozen.

 _Everyone_ was frozen solid, who’d stayed.

Except for…

“Chloe?”

She inhaled, quickly, as if surprised, but otherwise, didn’t move.

“Are you… Okay?”

She started, at that, and looked behind herself at him.  “Of course I’m fine!”  She shook her head in a ‘what’s that supposed to mean,’ kind of way, and looked forward again.

“How did you manage to… avoid her?”

“I was… smart, obviously,” she said, and just behind the harsh edge of her voice, he could just catch something.  “Everyone else, running, or hiding.” She shook her head.  “Obviously I couldn’t do that, so-

She turned, and her expression was almost proud.  “I offered to be her assistant.”

Chat Noir looked around.  Style Queen was gone.  Ladybug was gone.

“So… Where is she?”

“I-“ Chloe swallowed.  “She’ll realize that she forgot me in a minute and come back!  _Obviously._   You should probably run before she does,” she added, making little _shoo_ motions with one hand.

Adrien had known Chloe for a long time.  He’d known _about_ her mother almost as long.

“I see,” he said, and he did.  He let out a slow breath.  “Well…  I might as well stick around and wait, right?  It’s not like Ladybug’s going to show up anytime soon.”

He caught the edge of terror in Chloe’s expression as she turned away, ostensibly to look back up at the window.

“Well…” she said, “Well!  Obviously you’re going to get Rena Rouge and Carapace.  The two of them might add up to one Ladybug.”

Except he didn’t know who they really were, and had never actually gotten to fight a real villain alongside with them.

Not a recipe for success.

But…

He let out a breath.

At least… At least he knew _where_ to go to get reinforcements, right?

Master Fu would probably be expecting him.

\--

He hadn’t been sure whether to expect Chat Noir or not, but he was relieved to hear feet on the stairs, and, turning…

He was out of breath, and visibly unnerved.

“Master Fu!” he said, but-

He put up a hand, and… Chat Noir slowed down.

“I know what has happened,” he said, “you would be better suited to use your breath to calm yourself.”

One deep breath, and he seemed back to himself.  Good.  He was better at shrugging of this kind of fear than Ladybug, it seemed.

“Now.  What do you need?”

“I need…  Help.”  The word seemed to cost him something, but he said it simply.  “Ladybug’s a glitter statue, and I don’t even know what I’m up against.”

“Hm…  So you know nothing about your enemy?”

“Well…” he closed his eyes.  “She turns people into glitter statues.  She can… Move, fast.  Flying, I think.  And when she does it…  There’s not even a body.  I don’t think a punch would do more than annoy her.”

“Then… Again, what do you need?”

“I need.  A Miraculous.  One that doesn’t care about any of her abilities.”

“And do you have someone in mind who would take it?  Someone who you can trust?  A Miraculous is a great responsibility.”

Chat Noir’s eyes closed as he seemed to let the question sink in.  “I do.”

“Well then.  None can so easily avoid becoming a statue, and flight is worthless without an ability that can stop her.”  He smiled.  “But…  Follow me.”

The unlocking combination was second nature by now, and his hands were already prepared to open the box as it spun into sight.

“Against a single enemy, Venom is less versatile than your Cataclysm, but even more direct, and…  I don’t suppose you’d have ever used a Cataclysm on a living being.”

Chat Noir laughed, a trifle nervously.  “No.”

“Well, Venom is just as potent, but far less permanent.”

“Oh.  That’s good, then.”

He turned, the box proffered.

“The Miraculous of the bee,” he said by way of explanation.

Chat Noir nodded, slowly, and took it.

“No doubt you are already aware, but I must remind you that it is too dangerous to leave such a thing in the open any longer than necessary; the more links in a chain, the more easily it is broken.  You _must_ recover this when you have defeated Style Queen.

“I will.”

“Good.  Now, the longer you delay, the greater the chances she will grow impatient and simply take Ladybug’s Miraculous, rather than using her as bait.”

\--

Even flying above the city, he could feel the weight in his stomach.

He hadn’t been… _Entirely_ honest.

The problem was, he _knew_ Chloe, probably almost as well as she knew herself, by now; he’d seen her at her worst, and on occasion, her best.

The problem was ‘as well as she knew herself,’ might not be good enough, right now.  He’d need to be sure, before anything else.

“She hasn’t come back, has she.”

“Just… A few more minutes,” she said, jumping up, the brash confidence audibly fake, even to Adrien’s unpracticed ear.  “She probably just needed to make sure that Ladybug was secure before coming back.”

“Right…” he said, carefully picking out his words, “though, honestly, I’d be surprised if by the time she had her secured, she wouldn’t already be ready to take her Miraculous.  She certainly doesn’t seem like the patient type.”

Chloe bristled.

“That’s what you’d like, right?  After all, you’re her assistant.”

One of her fingers tapped, almost uncertainly, at her side.

“Hawkmoth wins, Ladybug is defeated.  Paris is terrorized without a chance of fixing things afterwards, since Ladybug isn’t around to put them back.  Well, terrorized until Hawkmoth gets my ring, and it’s not like it would take very long.  Hawkmoth gets the ring, does… Whatever he’s planning to do with both miraculouses…  After that…”  he trailed off.

“Well?” She said, “after that, what?”

“I don’t know,” he said, “I doubt it would be fun, though.”

“Well, then… You’d better go and stop her, if you care that much!”

She was losing steam rapidly, and in the uncertainty behind her words, he could see what he’d expected; what he’d been _hoping_ to see.

“Of course, I’ll just go off, probably get myself frozen… Lose another miraculous.  Should be fun!” he said, turning to go.

He got three steps before-

“What!?”

“Well,” he said, not even turning back, instead opting to simply look over his shoulder, “I _was_ going to ask you to help, but you’re obviously committed to being Style Queen’s assistant, so I won’t bother.”

“You were… What?” her voice finally lost the last of its grating edge.  She seemed, for once, confused, vulnerable.

He turned back, the box in his hand.  He flipped the lid up, giving her a casual view of the comb inside.

“Well?” he said.  “Was I wrong?  I can’t possibly leave Ladybug to her fate, but I’m not exactly optimistic about my chances by myself.”  He sighed, “But, if you’ve already given up, there’s no point in giving you a Miraculous that you’ll just hand to her _anyway_.”

The was a long second of silence, and he could see the slow shift in her expression.  “ _Well,”_ she said, and the voice was the Chloe he knew again, “I was _going_ to wait here so I could sabotage her, but frankly, _it’s about time_ I got a Miraculous.”

“You would have to give it back when she’s defeated,” he said.

She scoffed, “as if you won’t be _begging_ me to keep it by the time we’re done with her.”

“Jumping ahead a bit there, aren’t you?  I’ll need it back, no matter how well you might do.”

She rolled her eyes, and reached her hand out.

“Chloe,” he said, looking her directly in the eye, “I need you to promise me, that when Style Queen is defeated, you will give me back this Miraculous.”

Her expression froze, and he could see an edge of what was almost annoyance press its way through.  Then, she groaned, and rolled her eyes again.  _“Fine._ I promise.”

“You promise _what?_ ”

“I promise,” she said, visibly annoyed now, “that when I defeat Style Queen, I’ll give the Miraculous back to you.”

“When _we_ defeat Style Queen.”

“Right,” she said, “whatever.”

He snapped the box shut.  “Alright, then,” he tossed it to her, “we don’t have much time.”

She pulled it open, and seemed almost bewildered as a flash of light signaled a new kwami.

“Hello, my queen,” came the kwami’s voice, as it, _she,_ by the voice _,_ bowed in mid air, “I am Pollen, your kwami.”

Chloe’s face lit up.

 _“Well,”_ she said.

“Not much time,” he reminded her.

Pollen gave me a quizzical look, and then, smiling, turned back to Chloe.  “Then all you have to say is ‘buzz on.’”

Chloe rarely even smiled properly, but she was _grinning_ now.

“Buzz on!”

\--

Style Queen was getting bored, and, frankly, he couldn’t blame her.

He was getting bored, too, honestly.

Chat Noir should have appeared by now, and, frankly, he couldn’t figure out why he wouldn’t have.

Potentially… She might have randomly frozen him?  It seemed unlikely; Chat Noir, _randomly_ a member of the audience in a crowd of less than a thousand in a city as large as Paris?  It was more likely that he was out of town, or that he was sick, or, really, any of a thousand different things.

Hawkmoth considered, as Style Queen irately turned parts of the Eiffel tower into solid glitter.

Perhaps, he really _should_ make off with what he already had.  Take Ladybug’s Miraculous.

Except, of course, that she was already locked down, and it would take a Cataclysm to spring her free.  He had Chat Noir over a barrel, and they both knew it.

If he took the Miraculous, Chat Noir would have _no_ chance to ‘salvage’ the situation, meaning he would have no reason to come, no reason to risk his ring.

It was, in a strange twist, a _bargain._   He _had_ to give him a chance, however small, or he wouldn’t make a move.

It was infuriating, because he _could_ take the earrings, but… It would lose him his true goal.

So, he waited, and hoped that Style Queen wouldn’t give up, and return to her initial plan of _vengeance._

Well, it wouldn’t help him _or_ Chat Noir if something didn’t happen soon.

\--

He practically had to restrain Chloe from leaping into the fight, and had to fight to keep her from making _his_ mistake and attempting to use her ability immediately.

“You get one use, and only five minutes,” he reminded her, in a whisper.

A whisper, because on the other side of the steel beams they were hiding behind.

Style Queen hadn’t been hard to find.  He’d expected a fight, from the flashing lights, and the occasional beam of gold light that flew from the tower.

He put a finger up to his lips, and peeked around the side of the metal.

That was Ladybug, alright, with a golden rose between her lips.  No doubt, that was all he had to break to finish things, and that was easy, but for the fact that it was protected by some kind of barrier.

He swore, internally.

He needed Ladybug to purify the akuma and, hopefully, put things back to normal.

 _He_ needed to last long enough to break the barrier, which meant, no matter what, he couldn’t afford to get hit.

 

“Alright,” he said, “We have to get Ladybug out of there.  And to do that, I need to use my Cataclysm on that barrier.  I don’t need long.”

“You want _me_ to be a distraction?”

He gave her a look.  “Which of us can break the barrier, and which of us has a chance against her in a fight?”

She seemed taken aback at that, but then, she seemed to register the implicit admission that she could do something he was incapable of.

She pulled the top from her belt.

“A chance?  _Moi?_   You underestimate me.”

She leaped up, and swung _in._

\--

Chloe landed, and immediately, Style Queen’s attention was on her.

“I bet you weren’t expecting to see _me_ again,” she said.

There was an instant of silence.

“And _who_ , exactly, are you?”

She…

Of course, she was in a suit, but did she really not recognize her own daughter?  Or… The girl she’d taken as an assistant, at least?

“I…” she said, and glanced at the shield surrounding Ladybug.  She needed to distract her.  Or simply defeat her.

“Maybe you’ll remember my name after this, _Prom Queen._ ”

She raised the scepter, menacingly.  “ _Style Queen.”_

“Oh, sorry, do you not like it when people get your name right, _Drama Queen?_ ”

She dove away from the first blast, already calling out as she came up.

“ _Venom!”_

But she didn’t have a chance to get close, as another bolt was already aimed for her.

She jumped away, and was instantly on the defensive.

\--

Style Queen was certainly distracted, but the problem was, he wasn’t sure he could ready his cataclysm yet, since he’d need two hands to swing onto the platform, so there were sure to be a few seconds after he had landed where he’d be defenseless.

He couldn’t bet on the odds of her missing her shot.  He needed her out of the picture.

As if reading his mind.

“Your outfit is ridiculous _,_ _utterly, ridiculous!”_ called Chloe, jumping past him, swinging down to a lower level.  Looked like she’d finally grasped how hard it was to go toe to toe with one of these villains.

There was a flash, a golden cloud flashed after her, and… For the barest instant, he was sure she’d seen him.

If she had, she didn’t turn back midflight, at least, and he took the chance, leaping down.

“Cataclysm!” he shouted, and slammed his hand onto the shield, which, as he’d expected, _cracked._

Perfect.  He reached out for the rose, and-

Maybe it was a sound, or a flare of light off of Ladybug.

The how didn’t matter.  All that mattered was that as he flung himself away from Ladybug, he dodged the beam, and as he jumped to his feet, he was face to face with Style Queen.

She didn’t seem to be interested in talking, leveling two more blasts at him in quick succession, as-

“ _Don’t ignore me!”_ screamed Chloe, voice downright _enraged,_ rising up, her Venom ready to come down like-

Style Queen’s quick-draw reflexes wouldn’t have been out of place in the wild west, as Chloe froze solid in an instant.

An instant, though, was enough time for him to close the distance.

He’d worked long enough with Ladybug and fought enough different villains to know that the longer someone’s reach was, the harder it usually was for them to fight someone in their face.

So that was where he had to go.

His baton slashed out, and-

Right.  She turned back, but didn’t seem even distracted by the strike.

She brought the scepter around, and he knocked it away.

He was in too deep to run, now, his only chance was to fight _through_ her, _somehow._

So, he kept coming, never quite letting her bring the scepter to bear.

Her body kept reforming, but that just meant he had to go faster.

So he did.

It was like trying to fight a sandstorm, the baton kept cutting gashes through her, until, in mere moments, she had become a golden, glittering whirlwind.  The scepter, at least, was out of sight, but he was trapped in a stalemate, unless he could…

Even spinning, he could just make out the shape of Ladybug, and, more pressingly, the rose.

He’d only get one shot at this, so…

He took a single breath, and jumped.

Time seemed to slow.

 

Chat Noir was diving, body horizontal, and spinning.

 

Style Queen was behind him, body already half reformed.

 

One hand reached out for the rose, as the other cast his baton out, flinging it back at her.

 

His hand closed over the rose, and he pushed up, off of Ladybug’s face, strange though it was to do.

 

A flash of gold, shot from the scepter, sent off course as the baton knocked her off balance.

 

He hit the ground, and, still sliding, snapped the rose in two.

Style Queen disintegrated as he stood up.

He turned, and Ladybug…

Ladybug was glowing.

Red light flared from the golden statue that she’d become, and there was a sound, quiet at first, and then-

He stepped back, as Ladybug sat bolt upright, shouting in… Fury?  Exertion?

She blinked, as…  She looked around, taking in him, and the suddenly human shape of Audrey Bourgeois, and…

He gave her a nervous wave.

“Huh,” she said, more a laugh than anything.  She held up her hand, and between her fingers was a small ring, red, with black spots.

“I was wondering why my lucky charm gave me a copy of your ring,” she said.  She looked down at Audrey.  “I guess I don’t have to wonder anymore.”

He grinned.  “It’s just a shame you didn’t get to see me.   I must have looked absolutely magnificent.”

She laughed, again, and said, only half joking, “I’m sure you did.  Now, where’s that Akuma?”

He jerked his head over at it, now a significant distance from the tower, but…

Not far enough that she couldn’t reach it.

“Bye-bye, little butterfly,” she said, and smiling, “ _Miraculous Ladybug!”_

The light flared out, and when it was gone…

Chloe’s hand stabbed the rest of the way out, and then… She stopped.

Ladybug gave him a quizzical look.

“So,” said Ladybug, “I assume Chat Noir brought you in to help?”

She laughed.  “Of course he did.”

Ladybug’s look was a little more concerned this time.

“She did great,” he said.

She scoffed.  “Of course I did.  Did you expect any less?”

“I’ve never met you before, how would I have any idea what to expect?”

She… Paused at that.  “Well,” she said, “then the _next_ time we meet, you’ll know what to expect from Queen Bee.”

Ladybug raised her eyebrows.  “Queen?”

“Mhm.”

“And!” cut in Chat Noir, “speaking of next time, I’ll need that Miraculous back now, _Queen Bee.”_

 _“_ And exactly _whose_ idea was it to put me on an old, rusty landmark when the _elevators_ aren’t even working.”

Ladybug looked over, visibly annoyed.  “ _Yours,_ I assume.”

“In fairness, you could fly until a few minutes ago.”  He turned to Ladybug, “You want to make sure she’s not about to turn back into a new akuma?”

Ladybug looked at him, and then at Queen Bee.

“As long as it doesn’t take too long,” she muttered, smiling.

“So,” he said, turning back to Queen Bee, “You should probably be where you’re supposed to be before you turn back.”

She gave him a displeased look, but nodded, and they set off for the show.

\--

It was later.

A day later, in fact.

The news coverage of the fight had been distressingly low, which meant Marinette had been forced to rely on the footage from when Style Queen had first appeared (the footage that featured her foolishly sacrificing herself immediately.  Even for Adrien, she couldn’t afford to do that, for Paris’ sake, especially since all Style Queen had done was turn people into statues.)

That part had only lasted _seconds_ after she’d gone down, though, and the only other information…

Audrey Bourgeois had given only a few terse lines to the cameras about some girl in yellow, calling herself Queen Bee.

It was worse than if she’d said nothing at all, because…

“A _new hero,”_ said Alya, _“can you believe it?_   I bet Chat Noir chose her, too, since Ladybug wasn’t even available!”

She was right, and Marinette could have told her a bit more, had it not been for the fact that _Marinette_ had no way of knowing.

She sighed, as Alya, over and over, mulled over the tiny bits of information they had, swearing to herself that she _had_ to get ahold of Chat Noir to ask him about their new hero.  What was she like?  What could she do?  Why ‘Queen Bee?’  Would she be coming back again?

Marinette settled back into her chair, knowing full well that there was no stopping Alya’s curiosity until she got ahold of someone who could sate it.  She hoped she could find some way of making a suggestion to Chat Noir, but…

Something caught her eye.

Her eyes flicked over to Chloe, who was looking back at Alya.

She would have expected derision, or some scathing remark about how annoying she was being or…

Anything except… A light smile, not quite stifled as she turned back to the front.

**Author's Note:**

> I doubt Hawkmoth gives up for long, even though losing Style Queen was what was supposed to push him over the edge, and it was only the fact that a Miraculous had been lost that got him back up and kicking.


End file.
